Method and system for reproducing contents, and computer-readable recording medium thereof

ABSTRACT

A content reproducing method and system for performing seamless playback of contents between devices is provided. The contents reproducing system includes a portable device which, when a short distance communication with a remote control which is configured to control an electronic device occurs during reproducing of contents, generates data required by the electronic device for reproducing the contents that are being reproduced, and which transmits the generated data to the remote control; the remote control which receives the data from the portable device and which transmits the received data to the electronic device, in conjunction with the occurrence of the short distance communication with the portable device; and the electronic device for receiving the contents from a contents provider and reproducing the contents.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 13/664,928 filed Oct. 31,2012, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0036402, filed on Apr. 7, 2012, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Exemplary embodiments relate to reproduction of contents, and moreparticularly, to a method and system for reproducing contents, by whichseamless playback of contents is performed between devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

Functions of devices such as smart phones, hand-held personal computers(PCs), tablet PCs, and smart televisions (TVs) have graduallydiversified. Accordingly, it has become possible to reproduce the samecontents by using different devices.

For example, a user can watch and listen to broadcasting contents, whichcontents the user is watching and listening to on a smart TV, on a smartphone. A game application which is executed on a smart phone can also beexecuted on a smart TV. A sound source which is executed on a smartphone can also be executed on a smart TV. Accordingly, there is a needto facilitate a performance of a seamless playback of contents betweendevices.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments provide a method and a system for performing aseamless playback of contents between devices based on short distancecommunication and a computer-readable recording medium thereof.

Exemplary embodiments also provide a method and a system for performinga seamless playback of contents between devices based on short distancecommunication by sharing information required for reproducing contentsbetween the devices, and a computer-readable recording medium thereof.

Exemplary embodiments also provide a method and a system for performinga seamless playback of contents between devices based on a near fieldcommunication (NFC) contact, and a computer-readable recording mediumthereof.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided acontents reproducing method which is executable by using a portabledevice, the contents reproducing method including reproducing contents;detecting an occurrence of a short distance communication with a remotecontrol which is configured to control an electronic device; generatingdata required by the electronic device for reproducing the contents; andtransmitting the generated data to the remote control.

The short distance communication may be based on at least one near fieldcommunication (NFC) standard.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a contents reproducing method which is executable by using aremote control which is configured to control an electronic device, thecontents reproducing method including detecting an occurrence of a shortdistance communication with a portable device; receiving, from theportable device, data required by the electronic device for reproducingcontents that are being reproduced by the portable device; andtransmitting the received data to the electronic device.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a portable device which includes a short distance communicationunit which performs short distance communication; a touch screen whichdisplays an image which includes contents that are being reproduced, andwhich receives user input information; and a processor which provides auser interface based on the touch screen, controls a reproduction of thecontents, detects an occurrence of a short distance communication with aremote control which is configured to control an electronic device viathe short distance communication unit, generates data required by theelectronic device for reproducing the contents, and transmits thegenerated data to the remote control via the short distancecommunication unit.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a portable device which includes a short distance communicationunit which performs short distance communication; a touch screen whichdisplays an image which includes contents that are being reproduced, andwhich receives user input information; at least one processor whichprovides a user interface based on the touch screen; and a storage whichstores at least one program that is executable by the at least oneprocessor, wherein the at least one program includes commands forreproducing the contents, detecting an occurrence of the short distancecommunication with a remote controller which is configured to control anelectronic device via the short distance communication unit, generatingdata required by the electronic device for reproducing the contents, andtransmitting the generated data to the remote controller.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a remote control which is configured to control an electronicdevice, the remote control including a short distance communication unitwhich performs short distance communication with a portable device; auser input unit which receives user information; and a processor whichdetects an occurrence of a short distance communication with theportable device via the short distance communication unit, receives datafrom the portable device via the short distance communication unit, andtransmits the received data to the electronic device via a wirelesscommunication unit, wherein the received data includes data required bythe electronic device for reproducing contents that are being reproducedby the portable device.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a contents reproducing system which includes a portable devicewhich, when a short distance communication with a remote control whichis configured to control an electronic device occurs during areproducing of contents, generates data required by the electronicdevice for reproducing the contents, and which transmits the generateddata to the remote control; the remote control which receives thetransmitted data from the portable device and which transmits thereceived data to the electronic device based on an occurrence of theshort distance communication with the portable device; and theelectronic device which receives the contents from a contents providerbased on the data received from the remote control and which reproducesthe received contents.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a contents reproducing method which is executable by using aportable device, the method including detecting an occurrence of a shortdistance communication with a remote control which is configured tocontrol an electronic device; receiving, from at least one of the remotecontrol and the electronic device, data required by the portable devicefor reproducing contents that are being reproduced by the electronicdevice; receiving the contents from a contents provider, based on thereceived data; and reproducing the received contents.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a contents reproducing method which is executable by using aremote control which is configured to control an electronic device, thecontents reproducing method including detecting an occurrence of a shortdistance communication with a portable device; receiving, from theelectronic device, data required by the portable device for reproducingcontents that are being reproduced by the electronic device; andtransmitting the received data to the portable device.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a contents reproducing method which is executable by using anelectronic device, the contents reproducing method including reproducingcontents; receiving, from at least one of a remote control which isconfigured to control the electronic device and a portable device, adata transmitting request signal relating to data required by theportable device for reproducing the contents; generating the datarequired by the portable device for reproducing the contents; andtransmitting the generated data to at least one of the remote controland the portable device, wherein the data transmitting request signal isreceived based on an occurrence of a short distance communicationbetween the remote control and the portable device.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium havingrecorded thereon at least one program including commands for executingthe above-described contents reproducing method which is executable byusing a portable device.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium havingrecorded thereon at least one program including commands for executingthe above-described contents reproducing method which is executable byusing a remote control which is configured to control an electronicdevice.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium havingrecorded thereon at least one program including commands for executingthe above-described contents reproducing method which is executable byusing an electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will become more apparent by describingin detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawingsin which:

FIG. 1A is a structural diagram of a contents reproducing systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 1B is an example of the contents reproducing system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram which illustrates a portable deviceas shown in FIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram which illustrates a remote controlas shown in FIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram which illustrates an electronicdevice as shown in FIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using a portable device, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the remote control which is configured tocontrol the electronic device, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the remote control which is configured tocontrol the electronic device, according to another exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the electronic device, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using an electronic device, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using an electronic device, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, and the electronic device, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, and the electronic device, according toanother exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, the electronic device, and a server,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 16A is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 16B is a detailed flowchart which illustrates an operation ofreceiving contents from a contents provider as shown in FIG. 16A,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart which illustrates an operation of the remotecontrol, according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a detailed flowchart which illustrates an operation forreceiving data from the electronic device referred to in FIG. 17,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart which illustrates an operation of the electronicdevice, according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, and the electronic device in a contentsreproducing method, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, the electronic device, and the server in acontents reproducing method, according to another exemplary embodiment;and

FIG. 22 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice, the remote control, and the electronic device in a contentsreproducing method, according to another exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As the detailed description provided herein allows for various changesand numerous embodiments, particular exemplary embodiments will beillustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the writtendescription. However, this is not intended to limit the presentdisclosure to particular modes of practice, and it is to be appreciatedthat all changes, equivalents, and substitutes that do not depart fromthe spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure are encompassedin the present disclosure. In the description provided herein, certaindetailed explanations of related art are omitted when it is deemed thatthey may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present disclosure.

The terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein merely todescribe a variety of constituent elements, but the constituent elementsare not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose ofdistinguishing one constituent element from another constituent element.

Most of the terms used herein are general terms that have been widelyused in the technical art to which the exemplary embodiments pertain.However, some of the terms used herein may be created reflectingintentions of technicians in this art, precedents, or new technologies.Further, some of the terms used herein may be arbitrarily chosen by thepresent applicant. In this case, these terms are defined in detailbelow. Accordingly, the specific terms used herein should be understoodbased on the unique meanings thereof and the whole context of thepresent disclosure.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “atleast one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire listof elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.

Throughout this specification, the term “contents” may include a videoimage, a still image, a sound source, a file, broadcast contents, atext, and/or any other suitable form of contents. In addition, thecontents may include social network service-based contents, such as, forexample, a mobile messenger, an internet telephone, twitter, and a blog,and application-based contents. The application-based contents mayinclude game application-based contents. The contents are not limitedthereto.

Throughout this specification, the term “seamless playback of contents,”in the reproduction of the contents, refers to a process forcontinuously reproducing contents in different devices as if thecontents are reproduced by a single device based on an occurrence of ashort distance communication, such as, for example, near fieldcommunication (NFC) contact. The seamless playback of contents may alsorefer to a process for reproducing contents in a same environment or asimilar reproducing environment between devices. During the seamlessplayback, parameters relating to a reproducing environment may include,for example, caption settings, equalizer settings, sound settings,resolution, and/or any other suitable parameters relating to areproducing environment.

For example, when contents that are being reproduced by a first deviceinclude movie contents having a 16:9 aspect ratio and athree-dimensional (3D) stereophonic effect, seamless playback ofcontents in a second device, based on an occurrence of a short distancecommunication, such as, for example, a NFC contact between a remotecontrol which is configured to control the second device and the firstdevice, may refer to a process for reproducing contents from a time whena reproduction of the contents is stopped in the first device.

The time when reproduction of the contents is stopped in the firstdevice is used for understanding a connection relationship betweencontents that are being reproduced by the first device and contents tobe reproduced by the second device with respect to the seamless playbackof contents. Thus, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to the casein which a reproduction of contents that are being reproduced by thefirst device is stopped during the seamless playback of contents.

When contents that are being reproduced by the first device includemovie contents having a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 3D stereophonic effect,the seamless playback of contents in the second device, based on anoccurrence of a short distance communication, such as, for example, aNFC contact between a remote control which is configured to control thesecond device and the first device, may refer to a process forreproducing contents from a time when a reproduction of the moviecontents having a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 3D stereophonic effect isstopped in the first device. Thus, a user may continually watch andlisten to the movie contents on the second device.

Reproduction of contents according to a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 3Dstereophonic effect may refer to a process for reproduction of contentsin the same or similar reproducing environments due to the 16:9 aspectratio and the 3D stereophonic effect. Information relating to the 16:9aspect ratio and the 3D stereophonic effect may be contained in metadata relating to respective contents used throughout this specification.

As another example, when contents that are being reproduced by the firstdevice include a mobile messenger by which a user chats with “A,” theseamless playback of contents in the second device, based on anoccurrence of a short distance communication, such as, for example, aNFC contact between a remote control which is configured to control thesecond device and the first device, may refer to a process for opening achatting window with “A” based on the mobile messenger and transmittingand receiving messages. Thus, a user may continually transmit andreceive messages with “A” via a chatting window which is opened by usingthe second device.

As another example, when contents that are being reproduced by the firstdevice include a game application, the seamless playback of contents inthe second device, based on an occurrence of a short distancecommunication, such as, for example, a NFC contact between a remotecontrol which is configured to control the second device and the firstdevice, may refer to a process for starting the game application from agame level of the game application, which is executed by using the firstdevice, or reproducing the same game contents as the executed gamecontents. Thus, the user may continually play the game by using thesecond device.

Throughout this specification, user input information may be dependentupon a user gesture. The user gesture may be defined based on an inputdevice. In particular, when the input device is a touch screen-baseddevice, the user gesture may include, for example, but is not limitedto, a tap (or a touch), a touch and hold, a touch and drag, a doubletap, a drag, a panning, a flick, a drag and drop, a sweep, and/or anyother suitable user gesture.

A user gesture which is performed by using the touch screen-based devicemay be performed by using a user finger or a touch tool (for example, astylus pen). When the input device is a camera-based device, a usergesture may include a spatial gesture based on an image captured by acamera. When the input device includes physical buttons, a dial, aslider switch, a joystick, a click wheel, and/or any other suitablemeans for receiving user input, user input information may be dependentupon a physical control of the user with respect to the input device.

Throughout the specification, NFC contact may refer to NFC tagging.

Hereinafter, the present inventive concept will be described in detailby explaining exemplary embodiments with reference to the attacheddrawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote likeelements, and a repeated description thereof will not be provided.

FIG. 1A is a structural diagram of a contents reproducing systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 1A may refer to a structuraldiagram of a network for performing a contents reproducing methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment. The contents reproducing systemshown in FIG. 1 includes a portable device 100, a remote control device110 which is usable for controlling an electronic device 120, theelectronic device 120, and a server 130.

However, the contents reproducing system according to the presentexemplary embodiment is not limited to the case shown in FIG. 1A. Forexample, the contents reproducing system according to the presentexemplary embodiment may include a plurality of servers which providerespective contents. In addition, the contents reproducing systemaccording to the present exemplary embodiment may include the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120. Inthe aforementioned example relating to the seamless playback ofcontents, the portable device 100 and the electronic device 120 may beexemplified as a first device and a second device, respectively. Thus,hereinafter, the portable device 100 may also refer to a first deviceand the electronic device 120 may also refer to a second device.

In the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1A, when short distancecommunication units 101 and 111 are configured based on an NFCcommunication module, a seamless playback of contents may be performedaccording to a user's intention by NFC contact, a small amount of datamay be transmitted between the portable device 100 and the remotecontrol 110, and information may be transmitted for user authenticationbetween the portable device 100 and the electronic device 120 or betweenthe portable device 100 and the remote control 110.

An example of the portable device 100 shown in FIG. 1A may include asmart phone, a notebook, a tablet PC, a mobile device, a handheld deviceor a handheld computer, a media player, a personal digital assistant(PDA), and/or any other suitable type of portable device.

The portable device 100 includes the short distance communication unit101 which is usable for performing short distance communication. Theshort distance communication unit 101 may include, for example, at leastone of an NFC-based communication chip, a radio frequency identification(RFID)-based communication chip, and other short distance communicationchips.

When the short distance communication unit 101 is configured based onNFC standards, the short distance communication unit 101 may include anactive circuit for transmitting and receiving data and information toand from the short distance communication unit 111 when the shortdistance communication unit 101 contacts the short distancecommunication unit 111 or is brought into relatively close physicalproximity with respect to the short distance communication unit 111 at apredetermined distance. In this case, the short distance communicationunit 111 may include a passive NFC tag, but may also include an activecircuit which is similar to the active circuit described above withrespect to the short distance communication unit 101. The predetermineddistance may be set to approximately within a range of between zero and20 centimeters.

When the short distance communication unit 101 is configured based onRFID, the short distance communication unit 101 may include an activecircuit for transmitting and receiving data and information to and fromthe short distance communication unit 111 at a relatively far distance,as compared with a case in which the short distance communication unit101 is configured based on NFC. In this case, the short distancecommunication unit 111 may include a passive RFID tag, but may alsoinclude an active circuit which is similar to the active circuitdescribed above with respect to the short distance communication unit101.

In addition, a button (not shown) for transmitting a user intentionrelating to whether the contact between the short distance communicationunits 101 and 111 or the physical approach is valid with respect to theportable device 100 may be installed on the portable device 100, therebypreventing the short distance communication unit 101 from operating whenan unnecessary contact or unnecessary physical approach occurs betweenthe short distance communication units 101 and 111.

The short distance communication unit 101 may convert data fortransmission to the short distance communication unit 111 into a messagewhich has a short distance communication data exchange format, and maytransmit the short distance communication data exchange format messageto the short distance communication unit 111. Accordingly, when data istransmitted to the short distance communication unit 111, the shortdistance communication unit 101 may perform a data write function.

In addition, the short distance communication unit 101 may convert ashort distance communication data exchange format message which isreceived from the short distance communication unit 111 into data thatis processable by the portable device 100. Accordingly, when the shortdistance communication unit 101 receives a message from the shortdistance communication unit 111, the short distance communication unit101 may perform a read function.

The short distance communication unit 111 may include at least one of apassive NFC tag and a passive RFID tag, when the remote control 110 iscapable of one-way communication with the electronic device 120.However, when the remote control 110 and the electronic device 120 arecapable of two-way communication, the short distance communication unit111 may include an active circuit for performing a read function or awrite function, similarly as the short distance communication unit 101.

In particular, when the short distance communication unit 111 includesan active circuit and transmits a message to the short distancecommunication unit 101, the short distance communication unit 111performs the write function. In addition, when the short distancecommunication unit 111 includes an active circuit and receives a messagefrom the short distance communication unit 101, the short distancecommunication unit 111 performs the read function.

When the short distance communication units 101 and 111 are configuredbased on NFC, each of the short distance communication units 101 and 111may be used as an NFC interface. When the short distance communicationunits 101 and 111 are configured based on RFID, each of the shortdistance communication units 101 and 111 may be used as an RFIDinterface.

The remote control 110 controls the electronic device 120. As describedabove, the remote control 110 may be configured to control theelectronic device 120 in order to perform one-way communication ortwo-way communication with the electronic device 120.

The electronic device 120 is a media reproducing device that iscontrollable by using the remote control 110. The electronic device 120may include, for example, a TV having a communication function or adigital consumer electronics (CE) device having a communicationfunction. The digital CE device may include, for example, arefrigerator, an audio system, and/or any other suitable type of digitalCE device, and may also include a digital television (DTV) or anInternet protocol television (IPTV).

The server 130 provides contents that are requested by at least one ofthe electronic device 120 and the portable device 100. The server 130may include a contents providing server which is connected via a webpage, a broadcasting contents providing server, a cloud server, a homegateway, and/or any other suitable type of server device.

The server 130 may store contents and data required for reproducing thecontents based on a request of either of both of the electronic device120 and the portable device 100. The contents and the data required forreproducing the contents, which are stored in the server 130, may beprovided from either or both of the electronic device 120 and theportable device 100. However, the server 130 may collect the contentsand the data required for reproducing the contents from another databaseserver (not shown).

In the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1A, when the portabledevice 100 reproduces contents, based on an occurrence of a shortdistance communication between the short distance communication units101 and 111, data to be shared between the portable device 100 and theelectronic device 120 may be transmitted via the remote control 110 inorder to perform the seamless playback of contents by using theelectronic device 120.

In the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1A, when the electronicdevice 120 reproduces contents, based on an occurrence of a shortdistance communication between the short distance communication units101 and 111, data to be shared between the electronic device 120 and theportable device 100 may be transmitted via the remote control 110 or bydirect communication between the electronic device 120 and the portabledevice 100 in order to perform the seamless playback of contents byusing the portable device 100. However, transmission of the shared datain the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1A is not limited tothe above-described example.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1A, in order for the portable device100 or the electronic device 120 to perform the seamless playback ofcontents reproduced by the portable device 100 at a later time,information which is required for reproducing the contents may betransmitted to and stored in the server 130, and this information maysubsequently be downloaded and used by the portable device 100 or theelectronic device 120, if necessary.

In addition, in order for the portable device 100 or the electronicdevice 120 to perform the seamless playback of contents reproduced bythe electronic device 120 at a later time, information which is requiredfor reproducing the contents may be transmitted to and stored in theserver 130, and this information may subsequently be downloaded and usedby the portable device 100 or the electronic device 120, if necessary.In this case, the contents that are being reproduced may be transmittedto and stored in the server 130.

In the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1A, in a case in whichthe portable device 100 is a smart phone, the electronic device 120 is aTV, and each of the short distance communication units 101 and 111 is anNFC-based communication module, the content reproducing system shown inFIG. 1A functions as a content reproducing system which is shown in FIG.1B.

The contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1B includes a smart phone150 which includes an NFC-based communication module 151, a remotecontrol 160 which includes an NFC-based communication module 161, a TV170 that is controllable by using the remote control 160, and a server180 that is connected to the TV 170 and the smart phone 150 and thatprovides information to each of the TV 170 and the smart phone 150.

Thus, in the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1B, when thesmart phone 150 reproduces contents, based on an occurrence of a shortdistance communication (or contact) between the NFC-based communicationmodule 151 of the smart phone 150 and the NFC-based communication module161 of the remote control 160, data to be shared between the TV 170 andthe smart phone 150 may be transmitted via the remote control 110 inorder to perform the seamless playback of contents by using the TV 170.

In the contents reproducing system shown in FIG. 1B, when the TV 170reproduces contents, based on an occurrence of a short distancecommunication (or contact) between the NFC-based communication module151 of the smart phone 150 and the NFC-based communication module 161 ofthe remote control 160, data to be shared between the TV 170 and thesmart phone 150 may be transmitted via the remote control 160 or bydirect communication between the TV 170 and the smart phone 150 in orderto perform the seamless playback of content by using the smart phone150. However, transmission of the shared data in the contentsreproducing system shown in FIG. 1B is not limited to theabove-described example, similarly as described above with respect toFIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the portable device 100 shown inFIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the portable device 100 includes a user input unit201, a sensor 202, a touch screen 203, a camera 204, an audio input unit205, an audio output unit 206, a storage 207, a communication unit 208,a port 209, a processor 210, a power supply 211, and a short distancecommunication unit 101. The configuration of the portable device 100 isnot limited to the case illustrated in FIG. 2.

The user input unit 201 generates input data (or output data) forcontrolling an operation of the portable device 100 or theabove-described user input information. The user input unit 201 mayinclude, for example, at least one of a key pad, a dome switch, a touchpad that replaces a mouse, a jog wheel, a jog switch, hardware (H/W)buttons, and/or any other suitable means for receiving user input.

The sensor 202 detects a current state of the portable device 100, suchas, for example, a position of the portable device 100, user contact, abearing of the portable device 100, acceleration or deceleration of theportable device 100, and/or any other suitable parameter relating to thecurrent state of the portable device 100, and generates a sensing signalfor controlling an operation of the portable device 100. The sensor 202may include a proximity sensor.

The proximity sensor refers to a sensor for detecting the presence of anobject that approaches at least one of a predetermined detection surfaceand an object located in the vicinity of the sensor by using anelectromagnetic field force or infrared rays in an absence of physicalcontact. Examples of the proximity sensor may include any one or more ofa transmissive photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection-typephotoelectric sensor, a mirror reflective-type photoelectric sensor, ahigh-frequency oscillation-type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximitysensor, a magnetic type proximity sensor, an infrared ray proximitysensor, and/or any other suitable type of proximity sensor.

User input data which is obtained by using the touch screen 203 may begenerated based on a user selection or a user request, which may bemanifested as a user gesture. Similarly as the above-described exampleof the user gesture, the user gesture may be variously defined accordingto various combinations of the number of touches, a touch pattern, and atouch intensity. It will be understood that a touch on the touch screen203 by a user's finger is based on body parts that are capable oftouching a touch area of the touch screen 203.

In addition, the touch screen 203 may include various sensors fordetecting a touch or a proximity touch of the touch screen 203. Thesensor included in the touch screen 203 includes a sensor which detectsa user gesture or pattern on the touch screen 203 and which generates asignal obtained by sensing at least one of a drag, a flick, a tap, atouch and hold, a touch and drag, a double tap, a panning, a sweep,and/or any other suitable form of user touch input, which are recognizedas a user gesture on the touch screen 203.

An example of the sensor for detecting a touch of the touch screen 203may include a tactile sensor. The tactile sensor may detect variouspieces of information, such as, for example, the roughness of a contactsurface, the hardness of a contacted object, a temperature of acontacted point, and the like. A touch of the touch screen 203 may begenerated by touching a panel with a pointer. The touch may include amulti-touch. A proximity touch of the touch screen 203 corresponds to acase in which a pointer does not actually touch the touch screen 203,but instead approaches the touch screen 203 at a predetermined adjacentdistance. The pointer is a tool for touching or proximity-touching apredetermined portion of the touch screen 203. Examples of the pointermay include a stylus pen, a finger, or a body part functioning as afinger, a tool corresponding to a finger, and/or any other suitable typeof pointer. Thus, the pointer will also be referred to as an externalinput device.

The touch screen 203 outputs information that is processed by theportable device 100. For example, the touch screen 203 displays an imagein response to a user gesture or a touch pattern which is detected bythe sensor 202 included in the touch screen 203, control data or userinput information which is received via the user input unit 201, or asignal that is detected via the sensor 202.

The touch screen 203 will also be referred to as an input and outputdevice. When the touch screen 203 is an input and output device, animage displayed on the touch screen 203 includes a user interface (UI)image or a graphic user interface (GUI) image. The touch screen 203 maydisplay an image which includes information relating to contents thatare being reproduced and may receive the user input information.

The touch screen 203 may include, but is not limited to, a liquidcrystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, anorganic light-emitting diode display, a flexible display, athree-dimensional (3D) display, an active-matrix organic light-emittingdiode (AMOLED) display, and/or any other suitable type of display. Thetouch screen 203 will also be referred to as a display. Two or moretouch screens 203 may be included according to a configured type of theportable device 100.

The camera 204 processes an image frame of a still image or a videoimage which is obtained by an image sensor in a video call mode or aphotograph mode. In addition, the processed image frame may be displayedon the touch screen 203. The image frame processed by the camera 204 maybe stored in the storage 207 or may be transmitted outside the portabledevice 100 via the communication unit 208 or the port 209. Two or morecameras 204 may be included according to a configured type of theportable device 100. In addition, the camera 204 may be used as an inputdevice for recognizing a user's spatial gesture.

The audio input unit 205 receives an external sound signal, converts theexternal sound signal into electrical sound data, and transmits theelectrical sound data to the processor 210 in at least one of a callmode, a record mode, a voice recognition mode, and/or any other suitablemode for transmitting sound data. The audio input unit 205 may include,for example, a microphone. The audio input unit 205 may be configured toimplement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generatedduring a process for receiving the external sound signal. The soundsignal that is received by using the audio input unit 205 may containuser input information based on a natural language for performing amethod of reproducing contents according to an exemplary embodiment. Theuser input information based on a natural language may refer tovoice-recognition based user input information. The external soundsignal that is received via the audio input unit 205 may be stored inthe storage 207 or may be transmitted by the portable device 100 via atleast one of the communication unit 208 and the port 209.

The user input unit 201, the sensor 202, the touch screen 203, thecamera 204, and the audio input unit 205 may each also be referred to asan input device or an input/output device according to a user interfacefunction between the portable device 100 and a user. For example, whenthe user interface function between the portable device 100 and the userhas a touch recognition function, a voice recognition function, and aspatial gesture recognition function, each of the user input unit 201,the sensor 202, the camera 204, and the audio input unit 205 may also bereferred to as an input device, and the touch screen 203 may be referredto as an input/output device.

The audio output unit 206 outputs at least one of a sound signal and anaudio signal which is received from an external source in a call mode,an audio reproducing mode, and/or any other mode which is suitable forreceiving an audio signal. The audio output unit 206 may include aspeaker. According to the present exemplary embodiment, when theportable device 100 reproduces contents, if the reproduced contentsinclude an audio signal, the audio output unit 206 outputs the audiosignal included in the reproduced contents. The audio input unit 205 andthe audio output unit 206 may be integrated with each other, such as,for example, a headset.

The storage 207 stores a resource and at least one program that isexecutable by the processor 210 that will be described below. The atleast one program may include a program for performing a contentsreproducing method according to an exemplary embodiment, an operatingsystem (OS) program of the portable device 100, an application that isset in the portable device 100, and one or more programs which arerespectively required for performing various functions (for example, acommunication function and a display function) of the portable device100. The resource may include at least one of meta data relating to thecontents according to the aforementioned exemplary embodiments, deviceinformation relating to the portable device 100, user informationrelating to the portable device 100, information required for executingan application that resides in the portable device 100, and programsrequired for performing the above-described functions.

In addition, the storage 207 includes information required forgenerating data required for reproducing contents that are beingreproduced. The data required for reproducing contents that are beingreproduced may include data required by the electronic device 120 forperforming a seamless playback of the contents that are being reproducedby the portable device 100.

The required contents may include at least one of information relatingto a contents provider, device-specific information relating to theportable device 100, user information relating to the portable device100, meta data relating to contents that are reproduced, and informationrelating to a time when contents are reproduced, which corresponds to atime when an occurrence of a short distance communication is detected.The meta data relating to the contents may include title informationrelating to the contents and the above-described reproducing environmentinformation. The information relating to the contents provider may referto information relating to a contents reproducing path (for example,channel information and information relating to a contents providingserver).

The storage 207 may independently include a storage which stores atleast one program which is required for performing various functions ofthe portable device 100, and a storage which stores at least one programfor performing the contents reproducing method according to an exemplaryembodiment, resources, and applications, in addition to theabove-described OS system.

The storage 207 may include at least one of a high-speed random accessmemory, a magnetic disc storing device, a non-volatile memory such as aflash memory, and/or other non-volatile memories. Thus, the storage 207may be referred to as a memory.

Programs stored in the storage 207 may be divided into a plurality ofmodules according to their functions. In particular, programs stored inthe storage 207 may be divided into an operating module, a communicationmodule, a graphic module, an input module, and/or any other suitabletype of program module, but the exemplary embodiments are not limitedthereto.

The communication module may include, but is not limited to, at leastone of a broadcast receiving module, a mobile communication module, awireless Internet module, a wired Internet module, a short distancecommunication module, and a position information module, as describedbelow with respect to the communication unit 208. The short distancecommunication module may include at least one of an NFC module, aBluetooth module, a WiFi direct module, an RFID module, and/or any othersuitable type of module.

The input module may include, but is not limited to, at least one of atouch module based on the touch screen 203, a hardware key input modulebased on the user input unit 201, a position recognition module of theportable device 100 and a motion recognition module, based on the sensor202, a module for recognizing user contact, a module for recognizingacceleration or deceleration of the portable device 100, a motionrecognition module based on the camera 204, and/or any other suitabletype of module.

The position information module may include, but is not limited to, aposition tracing module of the portable device 100, which is based on aglobal positioning system (GPS).

The graphic module may adjust the image quality on the touch screen 203with respect to the seamless playback of contents between devices, butis not limited thereto.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, the application modulestored in the storage 207 may include a module for seamless playback ofcontents between devices. The module may be configured as a module forseamless playback of contents between devices in conjunction with NFCcontact between the NFC-based communication module 161 of the remotecontrol 160 of FIG. 1B and the NFC-based communication module 151 of thesmart phone 150, or alternatively, may include at least one of variousmodules based on short distance communication other than the NFC contactbetween devices.

The module for seamless playback of contents between devices may beclassified into various modules such as a module for seamless playbackof contents from the portable device 100 only to a device controlled bya remote control, a module for seamless playback of contents from anexternal device only to the portable device 100, and a module obtainedby combining these two modules, but is not limited thereto.

The communication unit 208 may be configured to transmit and receivedata to and from the electronic device 120 and the server 130 via awireless network such as wireless Internet, wireless intranet, awireless telephone network, a wireless LAN, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), 3generation (3G), 4G, Bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), RFID,ultra wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and NFC or a wired network such as wiredInternet.

When both of the short distance communication unit 101 and thecommunication unit 208 are based on RFID, the communication unit 208 mayinclude an RFID-based communication unit having a further maximumcommunication distance than an RFID-based communication unit included inthe short distance communication unit 101.

The communication unit 208 may include, but is not limited to, at leastone of a broadcast receiving module, a mobile communication module, awireless Internet module, a wired Internet module, a short distancecommunication module, and a position information module.

The broadcast receiving module receives a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast-related information from an external broadcast managementserver via a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include asatellite channel or a terrestrial channel. The mobile communicationmodule transmits and receives a wireless signal with at least one of abase station, an external device (for example, the electronic device120), and the server 130 on a mobile communication network. The wirelesssignal may include at least one of a sound call signal, a video callsignal, and/or various types of data according to transmission of atext/multimedia message. The wireless Internet module may refer to amodule for wireless Internet access. The wired Internet module may referto a module for wired Internet access.

The short distance communication module may refer to a module for shortdistance communication. In addition, the short distance communicationmodule may use a short distance communication technology such as atleast one of Bluetooth, RFID, IrDA, UWB, ZigBee, WFD, NFC, and/or anyother suitable communication technology. The position information modulemay include a module for checking or obtaining a position of theportable device 100. An example of the position information module maybe a GPS module. The GPS module receives position information from aplurality of artificial satellites. The position information may includecoordinate information which is indicated by latitude and longitude.

The port 209 may transmit and receive data to and from an externaldevice (not shown) by using a plug-and-play interface such as auniversal serial bus (USB) port (not shown). The plug-and-play interfacemay refer to a module that automatically recognizes the external devicewhen the external device is inserted into a plug of the portable device100.

The power supply 211 supplies power to various components of theportable device 100. The power supply 211 includes one or more powersupplies, such as for example, a battery or an alternating current (AC)power supply. The portable device 100 may not include the power supply211 and may include a connection unit (not shown) that is capable ofbeing connected to an external power supply (not shown).

The processor 210 may control an overall operation of the portabledevice 100 and may also be referred to as one or more processors.Although FIG. 2 shows a case in which the processor 210 is configured asa single chip, the processor 210 may also be referred to as one or moreprocessors because the processor 210 may be classified into a pluralityof processors and may operate according to functions of the portabledevice 100.

The processor 210 may control overall operations of the user input unit201, the sensor 202, the touch screen 203, the camera 204, the audioinput unit 205, the audio output unit 206, the storage 207, thecommunication unit 208, the port 209, and the short distancecommunication unit 101. Thus, the processor 210 may also be referred toas a controller, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, or thelike. In addition, the processor 210 may provide a user interface byusing at least one of the user input unit 201, the sensor 202, the touchscreen 203, the camera 204, and the audio input unit 205.

The processor 210 may execute at least one program that is related to acontents reproducing method according to an exemplary embodiment. Theprocessor 210 may read the program from the storage 207 and may executethe program, or alternatively, may download the program from an externaldevice such as an application providing server (not shown) or a marketsever (not shown) which is connected to the processor 210 via thecommunication unit 208 and may execute the program. It would beunderstood that the processor 210 may include an interface function unitbetween various functional modules inside the portable device 100 andthe processor 210. An operation of the processor 210, which is relatedto a contents reproducing method according to an exemplary embodiment,may be performed, as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 16A, and16B which will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the remote control 110 shown inFIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, theremote control 110 includes the short distance communication unit 111, auser input unit 301, a wireless communication unit 302, a processor 303,and a storage 304.

The user input unit 301 may receive a key signal by using a key button.

The wireless communication unit 302 performs wireless communication inorder to transmit data transmitted from the processor 303 to theelectronic device 120.

When the remote control 110 includes an IrDA-based remote control thatone-way communicates with the electronic device 120, the wirelesscommunication unit 302 may include an infrared (IR) transmitter. Whenthe wireless communication unit 302 includes the IR transmitter, thewireless communication unit 302 irradiates infrared rays to theelectronic device 120 in order to transmit data to the electronic device120. The data transmitted to the electronic device 120 is dependent uponthe key signal received by the user input unit 301 or data received viathe short distance communication unit 111.

In particular, when an occurrence of a short communication inconjunction with a contact between the short distance communication unit111 and the short distance communication unit 101 or an approach betweenthe short distance communication unit 111 and the short distancecommunication unit 101 at a predetermined adjacent distance is detected,data required for reproducing contents received from the portable device100 is provided to the processor 303. The processor 303 transmits aninfrared ray-type signal, which is required for transmitting thereceived data to the electronic device 120, to the wirelesscommunication device 302. In response, the wireless communication unit302 generates a pulse wave which corresponds to the infrared ray-typesignal received from the processor 303 and irradiates infrared rays tothe electronic device 120 in order to transmit data to the electronicdevice 120.

Alternatively, the processor 303 may be configured to transmit datareceived via the short distance communication unit 111 to the electronicdevice 120 when the processor 303 receives a data transmitting requestsignal via the user input unit 301. To this end, the processor 303 maystore the received data in the storage 304.

In addition, the processor 303 may be configured to transmit a power-onrequest signal to the electronic device 120 via the wirelesscommunication unit 302 when the processor 303 detects the occurrence ofthe short distance communication. In this case, the processor 303 may beconfigured to independently generate the above-described power-onrequest signal from a power-on request signal that is received by theelectronic device 120 based on a control of a power on/off button (notshown) included in the user input device 301.

However, when the occurrence of the short distance communication isdetected and data is received by the electronic device 120, a power-onrequest signal may also be transmitted to the electronic device 120. Theelectronic device 120 may recognize the received power-on request signalas a signal that is generated based on the occurrence of the shortdistance communication, and as a result, the electronic device 120 maybe powered on in accordance with a power on/off state of the electronicdevice 120. In particular, when the electronic device 120 is in apower-on state, the received power-on request signal may be disregarded.When the electronic device 120 is in a power-off state, the electronicdevice 120 may be powered on in response the received power-on requestsignal.

When the remote control 110 is a radio frequency (RF)communication-based remote control that two-way communicates with theelectronic device 120, the wireless communication unit 302 may includean RF module.

When the wireless communication unit 302 includes an RF module, theprocessor 303 may transmit data, which is required for reproducingcontents that are received from the portable device 100 via the wirelesscommunication unit 302, to the electronic device 120. In addition, theprocessor 303 may transmit a request for data required for reproducingcontents to the electronic device 120 via the wireless communicationunit 302, and may receive the data required for reproducing contentsfrom the electronic device 120.

In addition, the processor 303 may monitor the power on/off state of theelectronic device 120 by two-way communication with the electronicdevice 120 via the wireless communication unit 302, and may store themonitoring result in the storage 304. When the occurrence of the shortdistance communication is detected, the processor 303 may determinewhether the power-on request signal to the electronic device 120 isgenerated, based on information relating to the power on/off state ofthe electronic device 120, which is stored in the storage 304. Then, theprocessor 303 may transmit the power-on request signal to the electronicdevice 120 via the wireless communication 302.

In addition, the processor 303 may be configured to independentlygenerate the above-described power-on request signal and to transmit thepower-on request signal to the electronic device 120 in conjunction witha detection of the occurrence of the short distance communication byusing a power-on request signal that is received by the electronicdevice 120 based on a control of a power on/off button (not shown) whichis included in the user input unit 301.

For convenience of description, thus far, the wireless communicationunit 302 has been exemplified as an IR module or an RF module. However,the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, thewireless communication unit 302 may be configured based on shortdistance communication such as Bluetooth. Thus, the wirelesscommunication unit 302 may be integrated with the short distancecommunication unit 111 to constitute one chip.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the electronic device 120 shownin FIG. 1A, according to an exemplary embodiment. In particular, FIG. 4is a functional block diagram of a case in which the electronic device120 includes a TV which has a communication function.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device 120 includes a wirelesscommunication unit 401, a communication unit 402, a broadcast signalreceiving unit 403, a storage 404, a processor 405, an image processor406, a display 407, an audio processor 408, an audio output unit 409,and an audio input unit 410.

The wireless communication unit 401 may be configured to communicatewith the wireless communication unit 302 included in the remote control110. In particular, when the wireless communication unit 302 includes anIR transmitter, the wireless communication unit 401 includes an IRreceiver, receives an infrared signal transmitted from the wirelesscommunication unit 302, demodulates the received infrared signal, andtransmits the demodulated signal to the processor 405. However, when thewireless communication unit 302 includes an RF module, the wirelesscommunication unit 401 includes an RF module, receives an RF signaltransmitted from the wireless communication unit 302, and transmits thereceived RF signal to the processor 405. However, the wirelesscommunication unit 401 is not limited to the above-described IR moduleand RF module. In particular, similarly as the wireless communicationunit 302, the wireless communication unit 401 may be configured based onshort distance communication such as Bluetooth.

The communication unit 402 performs wireless data communication with atleast one of the portable device 100 and the server 130 via a wirelesscommunication module. The electronic device 120 may data-communicatewith the portable device 100 or the server 130 by using at least one ofa wireless communication-based network such as Bluetooth, RFID, WiFi,IrDA, UWB, ZigBee, and NFC, a wired communication-based network such ashome phoneline networking alliance (PNA), power line communication(PLC), IEEE 1394, and wired Internet, and/or various home networks.

The processor 405 may receive contents or data required for reproducingcontents from at least one of the portable device 100 and the server 130via the communication unit 402. The processor 405 may include at leastone processor, such as the processor 210 shown in FIG. 2.

The broadcast signal receiving unit 403 divides a broadcast signalreceived via a tuner (not shown) into an image signal and an audiosignal and outputs the image signal and the audio signal. In particular,the tuner selects an RF broadcast signal, which corresponds to a channelselected by a user or any channel that is previously stored, from amongRF broadcast signals received via an antenna. In addition, the tunerconverts the selected RF broadcast signal into at least one of anintermediate frequency signal, a base band image, and an audio signal.The at least one of the intermediate frequency signal, the base bandimage, and the audio signal is transmitted to the processor 405.

The storage 404 may store at least one program for controlling andprocessing various signals in the processor 405 and may storeinformation relating to an authentication of the portable device 100,device-specific information relating to the electronic device 120, anduser information relating to the electronic device 120.

The processor 405 controls an overall function of an electronic device120. The processor 405 may control the electronic device 102 to transmitand receive data to and from the portable device 100 via thecommunication unit 402. The at least one program stored in the storage404 may be loaded in order to configure a user interface (UI) imageaccording to an exemplary embodiment, and the UI image may be displayedon the display 407 via the image processor 406.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the UI image may include a UIimage (or UI menu screen) which facilitates a user selection of contentsto be reproduced. The UI image which facilitates the selection ofcontents to be reproduced may be generated by the processor 405 when theelectronic device 120 reproduces contents and receives data required forreproducing contents via at least one of the wireless communicationdevice 401 and the communication device 402 in conjunction with anoccurrence of a short distance communication between the portable device100 and the remote control 110.

In addition, after the electronic device 120 is powered on, the UI imagemay include a first menu image. If a power-on state of the electronicdevice 120 is caused by the occurrence of the short distancecommunication between the remote control 110 and the portable device100, the first menu image may include an item which facilitates a userselection relating to whether a seamless playback of contents that arebeing reproduced by the portable device 100 is performed, all contentsare reproduced, or additional information is viewed or is stored forperforming a seamless playback later.

If the power-on state of the electronic device 120 is caused by theoccurrence of the short distance communication, data received from theremote control 110 or the portable device 100 may include a contentslist which is stored in the portable device 100, which does notcorrespond to data that is not related to the contents that are beingreproduced by the portable device 100. In this case, the first menuimage may include the contents list. Thus, a user may select desiredcontents based on the contents list provided via the first menu image.

However, if the power-on state of the electronic device 120 is notcaused by the occurrence of the short distance communication and thereis stored information which relates to a later performance of a seamlessplayback, the first menu image may include an item which facilitates auser selection relating to whether a seamless playback of contents isperformed.

The image processor 406 includes an image decoder (not shown) and ascaler (not shown). The image processor 406 may process an image outputfrom the broadcast signal receiving unit 403 in order to display theimage on a screen. The image decoder decodes a demultiplexed imagesignal. The scaler performs scaling in order to output resolution of thedecoded image signal from the display 407. The image decoder may includevarious standards of decoders. For example, when the demultiplexed imagesignal is an image signal which complies with an MPEG-2 standard, thedemultiplexed image signal may be decoded by an MPEG-2 decoder. Forexample, when the demultiplexed image signal is a decoded image signalwhich complies with an H.264 standard in accordance with a digitalmultimedia broadcasting (DMB) method or DVB-H, the demultiplexed imagesignal may be decoded by an H.264 decoder.

The display 407 may output an image which has been processed by theimage processor 406. The output image may include at least one of animage which has been received from the broadcast signal receiving unit403, a UI image, and an image which includes contents that are receivedfrom the portable device 100 or the server 130 via the communicationunit 402. However, the display 407 may include a touch screen and may beused as an input device.

The audio processor 408 processes at least one of an audio signal whichhas been output from the broadcast signal receiving unit 403 and anaudio signal which is contained in contents received via thecommunication unit 402, and transmits the processed audio signals to theaudio output unit 409. The audio output unit 409 may be configured invarious ways, and for example, may output at least one of a stereosignal, a 3.1 channel signal, and a 5.1 channel signal.

In addition, the audio processing unit 408 may process a signal whichhas been received from the audio input unit 410 and may transmit theprocessed signal to the processor 405. The audio input unit 410 mayinclude a microphone.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device 100, according to anexemplary embodiment. The method of FIG. 5 may be performed by theprocessor 210 shown in FIG. 2.

In operation S501, the portable device 100 reproduces contents on thetouch screen 203. Then, after detecting an occurrence of a shortdistance communication in operation S502 by using the remote control110, which controls the electronic device 120 via the short distancecommunication unit 101, in operation S503, the processor 210 generatesdata required by the electronic device 120 for reproducing the contentsthat are being reproduced on the touch screen 203. The generated dataincludes at least one of contents provider information, device-specificinformation relating to the portable device 100, user informationrelating to the portable device 100, meta data relating to the contents,and information relating to a time when the contents are reproduced,which corresponds to a time when the occurrence of the short distancecommunication is detected.

Then, in operation S504, the processor 210 transmits the generated datato the remote control 110 via the short distance communication unit 101.The short distance communication unit 101 converts the generated datainto a message which has a short distance communication data exchangeformat and transmits the message having the short distance communicationdata exchange format to the remote control 110.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device 100, according toanother exemplary embodiment. The method of FIG. 6 may be performed bythe processor 210 shown in FIG. 2. Respective operations S601, S602,S603, and S604 of FIG. 6 are the same as corresponding operations S501,S502, S503, and S504 of FIG. 5, respectively, and thus, their detaileddescription will be omitted.

In operation S604, the processor 210 transmits the generated data to theremote control 110 via the short distance communication unit 101, andthen, in operation S605, the processor 210 receives a contentstransmitting request signal from the electronic device 120 andinformation relating to the electronic device 120 from the electronicdevice 120 via the communication unit 208. The contents transmittingrequest signal and the information relating to the electronic device 120may be received from the remote control 110 via the short distancecommunication unit 101. Thus, in operation S606, the processor 210transmits contents to the electronic device 120 via the communicationunit 208 by using the received information relating to the electronicdevice 120.

In this case, the processor 210 may output a message indicating atransmission state of contents, such as, for example, “transmittingcontents,” to the touch screen 203, or may output a message indicating atransmission state of contents, including various steps such as, forexample, “begin transmitting of contents,” “transmitting contents,” and“finish transmitting of contents.” When the message indicating thetransmission state of contents, including the various steps, isdisplayed on the touch screen 203, the processor 210 may monitor anamount of data in the contents to be transmitted and a communicationspeed of the communication unit 208, and may control a time when themessage is output.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the portable device 100, according toanother exemplary embodiment. The method of FIG. 7 may be performed byusing the processor 210 shown in FIG. 2. Respective operations S701,S702, S703, S704, S705, and S706 of FIG. 7 are the same as correspondingoperations S601, S602, S603, S604, S605, and S606 of FIG. 6,respectively, and thus, their detailed description will be omitted.

When the processor 210 receives a reproduction completion guidancemessage from the electronic device 120 via the communication unit 208 inoperation S707, the processor 210 displays the received reproductioncompletion guidance message on the touch screen 203 in operation S708.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the remote control 110 which is configuredto control the electronic device 120, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The method of FIG. 8 may be performed by the processor 303shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation S801, the processor 303 detects anoccurrence of a short distance communication between the portable device100 and the remote control 110 via the short distance communication unit111, and then, in operation S802, the processor 303 receives datarequired by the electronic device 120 for reproducing contents that arebeing reproduced by the portable device 100 in the electronic device 120from the portable device 100 via the short distance communication unit111. In conjunction with the detection of the occurrence of shortdistance communication, the processor 303 may transmit a power-onrequest signal to the electronic device 120. Thus, the electronic device120 may recognize the power-on request signal and the occurrence of theshort distance communication and may control a power-on state of theelectronic device 120, which will be described below with reference toFIG. 12.

In operation S803, the processor 303 transmits received data to theelectronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 302. Thereceived data is transmitted to the electronic device 120 in response toa data transmission request signal which is received via the user inputunit 301 of the remote control device 110. In addition, the receiveddata is converted into data having a compatible format based on a dataexchange format between the electronic device 120 and the remote control110 in the wireless communication unit 302, and is then transmitted tothe electronic device 120.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the processor 303 may transmit apower-on request signal relating to the electronic device 120 before orwhen the received data is transmitted to the electronic device 120.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the remote control 110 which is configuredto control the electronic device 120, according to another exemplaryembodiment. The method of FIG. 9 may be performed by the processor 303shown in FIG. 3. Respective operations S901, S902, and S903 of FIG. 9are the same as corresponding operations S801, S802, and S803 of FIG. 8,respectively, and thus, their detailed description will be omitted.

In operation S904, the processor 303 receives a contents transmittingrequest signal and information relating to the electronic device 120from the electronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 302,and then, in operation S905, the processor 303 transmits the contentstransmitting request signal and the information relating to theelectronic device 120 to the portable device 100 via the short distancecommunication unit 111.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the electronic device 120, according to anexemplary embodiment. The method of FIG. 10 may be performed by theprocessor 405 shown in FIG. 4.

In operation S1001, the processor 405 receives information from theremote control 110 via the communication unit 402. In operation S1002,the processor 405 analyzes received data. In operation S1003, theprocessor 405 transmits a contents transmitting request signal to acontents provider based on a result of analyzing the data. When theresult of the analyzing indicates that the contents provider is theserver 130, the processor 405 transmits the contents transmittingrequest signal to the server 130 via the communication unit 402. Whenthe result of the analyzing indicates that the contents provider is theportable device 100, the processor 405 transmits the contentstransmitting request signal to the portable device 100 via thecommunication unit 402. When the result of the analyzing indicates thatthe contents provider includes both of the server 130 and the portabledevice 100, the processor 405 outputs a UI image (or UI menu screen) tothe display 407 such that a user may select a contents provider.

In operation S1004, the processor 405 receives contents from thecontents provider to which the contents transmitting request signal hasbeen transmitted, via the communication unit 402. In operation S1005,when the received contents are combined with an image signal and anaudio signal, the processor 405 reproduces the image signal by using theimage processor 406 and the display 407, and reproduces the audio signalby using the audio processor 408 and the audio output unit 409.

In this case, when the received contents have a plurality ofresolutions, the processor 405 first receives information relating tothe plurality of resolutions via the communication unit 402. Theprocessor 405 may display a UI image (or UI menu screen) which shows auser the information relating to the plurality of resolutions on thedisplay 407. Thus, when a user selects one resolution, informationrelating to the selected resolution is transmitted to the contentsprovider, and thus contents having the resolution selected by the usermay be received.

However, when the received contents have a plurality of resolutions andthe contents provider has information relating to a resolution of theelectronic device 120, the processor 405 may receive contents suitablefor the resolution of the electronic device 120 via the communication402, and may directly reproduce the contents by using the imageprocessor 406 and the display 407.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the electronic device 120, according toanother exemplary embodiment. The method of FIG. 11 may be performed bythe processor 405.

Similarly as described above with respect to operation S1001, inoperation S1101, the processor 405 receives information from the remotecontrol device 110 via the wireless communication unit 401, and then, inoperation S1102, the processor 405 analyzes received data.

In operation S1103, the processor 405 performs an authentication processrelating to the portable device 100 by using data relating to theauthentication process which has been detected from the analyzed data.In particular, the processor 405 compares information relating toauthentication that has previously been stored in the storage 404 withthe data relating to the authentication process which has been detectedfrom the analyzed data. If the previously stored information relating toauthentication is not identical to the detected data relating to theauthentication process, then in operation S1104, the processor 405 doesnot perform a seamless playback of contents. The data relating to theauthentication process may include, for example, at least one ofdevice-specific information relating to the portable device 100 and userinformation relating to the portable device 100. The authenticationprocess may refer to an authentication process relating to whether ornot a seamless playback of contents is allowed.

However, as a result of the authentication process, when thedevice-specific information relating to the portable device 100 or theuser information relating to the portable device 100, which is containedin the analyzed data, is identical to the previously stored informationrelating to authentication, then in operation S1105, the processor 405transmits the contents transmitting request signal to the contentsprovider via the communication device 208 in accordance with theanalyzing result.

Thus, in operation S1106, the processor 405 receives contents from thecontents provider via the communication unit 208, and then, in operationS1107, the processor 405 reproduces the received contents by using theimage processor 406, the display 407, the audio processor 408, and theaudio output unit 409, similarly as described above.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart which illustrates a contents reproducing methodwhich is executable by using the electronic device 120, according toanother exemplary embodiment. FIG. 12 shows a case in which anoccurrence of a short distance communication between the remote control110 and the portable device 100 is detected when the electronic device120 reproduces contents.

In operation S1201, the processor 405 receives information from theremote control 110 via the wireless communication unit 401 inconjunction with the occurrence of the short distance communication. Ifa determination is made in operation S1202 that contents are beingreproduced by using at least one of the image processor 406, the display407, the audio processor 408, and the audio output unit 409, asdescribed above, then in operation S1203, a UI image (or UI menu screen)which facilitates a selection relating to a playback method, and inparticular, whether contents that are currently being reproduced shallbe reproduced or whether a seamless playback of contents reproduced bythe portable device 100 shall be performed, is output to the displaydevice 407.

When user input information that is received from the remote control 110via the wireless communication device 401 does not indicate a selectionrelating to the seamless playback of contents, then in operation S1205,the processor 405 continuously reproduces contents that are currentlybeing reproduced. Conversely, when the user input information that isreceived from the remote control 110 via the wireless communication unit401 indicates a selection relating to the seamless playback of contents,then in operation S1206, the processor 405 analyzes data that isreceived via the communication unit 402, and then performs respectiveoperations S1207, S1208, and S1209, which are similar to theabove-described corresponding operations S1105, S1106, and S1107 of FIG.11.

In operation S1201 of FIG. 12, when information is received from theremote control 110 via the wireless communication unit 401 inconjunction with an occurrence of a short distance communication, apower-on request signal which relates to the electronic device 120 maybe contained in the received information. In this case, as describedabove, the processor 405 may recognize the power-on request signal inconjunction with the occurrence of the short distance communication,instead of a general power-on request signal. Thus, when the processor405 is in a power-on state, the processor 405 disregards the power-onrequest signal which is received via the wireless communication unit401. However, when the processor 405 is in a power-off state, theprocessor 405 may be powered on. In particular, the electronic device120 may determine whether the power-on request signal is accepted basedon a power on/off state of the electronic device 120.

In addition, when contents that are subject to a seamless playback aregeneral broadcast signals, the processor 405 may set a broadcast channelbased on the analyzing result obtained in operation S1206 and mayreceive a broadcast signal via the broadcast signal receiving unit 403in operation S1208.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120 whenthe electronic device 120 performs a seamless playback on contents thatare being reproduced by the portable device 100 and provides a requestfor contents to the portable device 100, according to an exemplaryembodiment. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the operationsare described as being performed by the portable device 100, the remotecontrol 110, and the electronic device 120. However, it will beunderstood that the operations are performed by using componentsincluded in the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

When the portable device 100 reproduces contents in operation S1301, ifan NFC contact between the portable device 100 and the remote controldevice 110 occurs in operation S1302, then in operation S1303, theportable device 100 generates data required by the electronic device 120for reproducing contents. The generated data may include the generateddata described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In operation S1304, the portable device 100 transmits data to the remotecontrol device 110. In operation S1305, the remote control 110 transmitsthe received data to the electronic device 120. In this case, thepower-on request signal may also be transmitted to the electronic device120, as described above with reference to FIG. 3. In addition, inoperation S1305, when data is transmitted from the remote control 110 tothe electronic device 120, the data may be converted into acommunication data exchange format which is mutually compatible betweenthe remote control 110 and the electronic device 120, and the converteddata may be transmitted to the electronic device 120.

Thus, in operation S1306, the electronic device 120 converts thereceived data into a format which is suitable for the electronic device120 and analyzes the received data for which the format has beenconverted.

When, in accordance with a result of the analyzing in operation S1306,the electronic device 120 determines to receive contents from theportable device 100, then in operation S1307, the electronic device 120sets a channel for communication with the portable device 100. In thiscase, when the electronic device 120 has not previously set a functionfor communicating with the portable device 100, the electronic device120 may activate the communication function based on communicationfunction information relating to the portable device 100, which iscontained in the analyzed data, and may set a communication channel. Forexample, when the communication function corresponds to WiFi direct, theelectronic device 120 may activate a WiFi direct function and may set acommunication channel, based on WiFi direct information included ininformation which is received from the portable device 100.

After the communication channel is set, in operation S1308, theelectronic device 120 transmits the contents transmitting request signaland information relating to the electronic device 120 to the portabledevice 100 by using the set communication channel. Thus, when contentsare transmitted by the portable device 100 in operation S1309, afterreceiving the transmitted contents, the electronic device 120 reproducesthe contents in operation S1310. The communication channel may be set byusing a short distance communication protocol, such as, for example,Bluetooth, in addition to the above-described WiFi direct.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120 whenthe electronic device 120 performs a seamless playback on contents thatare being reproduced by the portable device 100 and provides a requestfor contents to the portable device 100, according to another exemplaryembodiment. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the operationsare described as being performed by the portable device 100, the remotecontrol 110, and the electronic device 120. However, it will beunderstood that the operations are performed by using componentsincluded in the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

In FIG. 14, a contents transmitting request signal generated by theelectronic device 120 and information relating to the electronic device120 are transmitted to and received by the portable device 100 via theremote control 110. Thus, respective operations S1401, S1402, S1403,S1404, S1405, and S1406 of FIG. 14 correspond to respective operationsS1301, S1302, S1303, S1304, S1305, and S1306 of FIG. 13, respectively,and thus, their detailed description will be omitted.

In operation S1407, when the electronic device 120 determines to receivecontents from the portable device 100, the electronic device 120transmits a contents transmitting request signal and informationrelating to the electronic device 120 to the remote control 110, whichthen transmits the contents transmitting request signal and theinformation relating to the electronic device to the portable device inoperation S1408. Thus, in operation S1409, based on the request receivedby the portable device 100, a communication channel between the portabledevice 100 and the electronic device 120 is set. In this case, when theportable device 100 has not previously set a function for communicatingwith the electronic device 120, the portable device 100 may activate thecommunication function based on the received information relating to theelectronic device 120 and may set a communication channel. inparticular, similarly as described above with respect to FIG. 13, whencommunication function information contained in the information relatingto the electronic device 120 corresponds to WiFi direct, the portabledevice 100 may activate the WiFi direct function based on theinformation relating the electronic device 120, which is received fromthe remote control 110, and may set the communication channelaccordingly.

After the communication channel is set, in operation S1410, the portabledevice 100 transmits contents to the electronic device 120, and theelectronic device 120 then reproduces the contents in operation S1411.The communication channel may be set by using a short distancecommunication protocol, such as, for example, Bluetooth in addition tothe above-described WiFi direct.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control device 110, the electronic device 120,and the server 130 when the electronic device 120 provides a request forcontents to the server 130, according to an exemplary embodiment.Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the operations aredescribed as being performed by the portable device 100, the remotecontrol 110, and the electronic device 120. However, it will beunderstood that the operations are performed by using componentsincluded in the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Respective operations S1501, S1502, S1503, S1504, S1505, and S1506 ofFIG. 15 correspond to respective operations S1301, S1302, S1303, S1304,S1305, and S1306, of FIG. 13, respectively, and thus, their detaileddescription will be omitted.

In operation S1507, when the electronic device 120 determines to receivecontents from the server 130, the electronic device 120 sets acommunication channel with the server 130. In order to set thecommunication channel between the electronic device 120 and the server130, data may be transmitted and received between the electronic device120 and the server 130.

After the communication channel is set, in operation S1508, theelectronic device 120 transmits the contents transmitting request signalto the server 130. Thus, the server 130 searches for contents by usingmeta data relating to contents indicated in the received contentstransmitting request signal and, in operation S1509, transmits thecontents which are identified as a result of the searching to theelectronic device 120. Then, in operation S1510, the electronic device120 reproduces the received contents.

FIGS. 5 through 15 show respective cases in which, when the portabledevice 100 reproduces contents, in conjunction with an occurrence of ashort distance communication, such as an NFC contact, between theportable device 100 and the remote control 110, the electronic device120 performs a seamless playback of contents that are being reproducedby the portable device 100.

However, the above-described exemplary embodiments may also be appliedto contents that are in a pause state in the portable device 100,instead of the above-described contents that are being reproduced by theportable device 100. In this case, the generated data may includeinformation relating to a time when contents are reproduced, whichcorresponds to a pause time.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 are flowcharts which illustraterespective cases in which the portable device 100 performs a seamlessplayback when the electronic device 120 reproduces contents, inconjunction with an occurrence of a short distance communication, suchas an NFC contact, between the remote control 110 and the portabledevice 100, according to exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 16A is a flowchart which illustrates an operation the portabledevice 100, according to an exemplary embodiment. The operation of FIG.16A may be performed by the processor 210.

In operation S1601, the electronic device 120 reproduces contents andthe communication unit 208 detects an occurrence of a short distancecommunication between the remote control 110 and the portable device.Then, in operation S1602, the processor 210 receives data required bythe portable device 100 for reproducing the contents that are beingreproduced by the electronic device 120 from the remote control 110 viathe communication unit 208, or receives the data from the electronicdevice 120 via the remote control 110. The received data may include atleast one of contents provider information, device information relatingto the electronic device 120, user information relating to theelectronic device 120, meta data relating to the contents, andinformation relating to a time when the contents are reproduced, whichcorresponds to a time when an occurrence of a short distancecommunication is detected.

The processor 210 performs an authentication process which relates tothe electronic device 120 by using at least one of the deviceinformation relating to the electronic device 120 and the userinformation relating to the electronic device 120, at least one of whichis contained in the received data. The authentication process may beperformed by comparing the user information relating to the electronicdevice 120 or the device information relating to the electronic device120, which have previously been stored in the storage 207, with thereceived information. The authentication process may refer to anauthentication process which relates to whether or not a seamlessplayback of contents is allowed. When authentication is successful, inoperation S1603, the processor 210 receives the contents from a contentsprovider based on the data received via the communication unit 208.However, when authentication fails, the processor 210 does not perform aseamless playback of the contents.

The receiving of the contents in operation S1603 may be performed inaccordance with operations which are illustrated in FIG. 16B. FIG. 16Bis a detailed flowchart which illustrates an operation of receivingcontents from a contents provider, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 16B, in operation S1603_1, the processor 210 displaysa UI image (or a UI menu screen) on the touch screen 203 via which acontents provider may be selected based on the data received via theshort distance communication unit 101, on the touch screen 203. When aselection of the contents provider is detected based on the UI image viathe touch screen 203, in operation S1603_2, the processor 210 transmitsa contents transmitting request signal to the selected contents providervia the communication unit 208. Thus, in operation S1603_3, theprocessor 210 receives contents from the selected contents provider viathe communication unit 208.

Referring to FIG. 16A, when the received contents are combined with animage signal and an audio signal, in operation S1604, the processor 210performs a seamless playback based on the received contents via thetouch screen 203 and the audio output unit 206. When the receivedcontents include the image signal, the processor 210 reproduces thereceived contents via the touch screen 203. The received contents may bereproduced by using the data required for reproducing the content, whichdata is received in operation S1602.

Subsequent operations to the above-described operation S1602 may beperformed based on a contents reproducing request signal that isreceived via at least one of the user input unit 201, the touch screen203, the sensor 202, and the audio input unit 205 of the portable device100.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart which illustrates an operation which isexecutable by using the remote control 110, according to anotherexemplary embodiment. The operation of FIG. 17 may be performed by theprocessor 303.

In operation S1701, the processor 303 detects an occurrence of a shortdistance communication between the portable device 100 and the remotecontrol device 110 via the short distance communication unit 111, and,then, in operation S1702, the processor 303 receives data required bythe portable device 100 for reproducing contents that are beingreproduced by the electronic device 120 from the electronic device 120via the wireless communication device 302.

The receiving of the contents from the electronic device 120 may beperformed in accordance with operations which are illustrated in FIG.18. FIG. 18 is a detailed flowchart which illustrates an operation forreceiving data from the electronic device 120, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 18, when the processor 303 detects the occurrence ofthe short distance communication between the portable device 100 and theremote control 110 via the short distance communication device 111, inoperation S1801, the processor 303 transmits a data transmitting requestsignal to the electronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit302. Thus, in operation S1802, the processor 303 receives data from theelectronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 302. Thereceived data may include a response signal with respect to the datatransmitting request signal.

Referring to FIG. 17, the processor 303 receives data required forreproducing contents from the electronic device 120 via the wirelesscommunication unit 302, and then, in operation S1703, the processor 303transmits the received data to the portable device 100 via the shortdistance communication unit 111.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart which illustrates an operation of the electronicdevice 120, according to another exemplary embodiment. The methodillustrated in FIG. 19 may be performed by the processor 405.

In operation S1901, the electronic device 120 reproduces contents. Then,in operation S1902, the processor 405 receives a data transmittingrequest signal which is required by the portable device 100 in order toperform, in the portable device 100, a seamless playback of contentsthat are being reproduced by the electronic device 120. The datatransmitting request signal is received from at least one of the remotecontrol 110, via the wireless communication device 401, and the portabledevice 100, via the communication unit 402. Thus, in operation S1903,the processor 405 generates data required for reproducing contents.

In operation S1904, the processor 405 transmits the generated data tothe remote control 110 via the wireless communication unit 401, ortransmits the generated data directly to the portable device 100 via thecommunication device 402.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120 in acontents reproducing method according to an exemplary embodiment. Indetail, FIG. 20 shows a case in which the remote control 110 provides arequest for data to the electronic device 120 when the portable device100 performs a seamless playback of contents that are being reproducedby the electronic device 120 based on an occurrence of an NFC contactbetween the portable device 100 and the remote control 110. Hereinafter,for convenience of description, the operations are described as beingperformed by the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120. However, it will be understood that theoperations are performed by using components included in the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120, asshown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Referring to FIG. 20, when the electronic device 120 reproduces contentsin operation 2001, and when an occurrence of an NFC contact between theportable device 100 and the remote control 110 is detected in operation2002, the remote control 110 transmits information relating to theportable device 100 to the electronic device 120 in operation 2003. Theinformation relating to the portable device 100, which is transmitted tothe electronic device 120, includes information that is transmitted fromthe portable device 100 to the remote control 110 based on theoccurrence of the NFC contact. The information relating to the portabledevice 100 includes information required by the electronic device 120for transmitting information to the portable device 100, and mayinclude, for example, identification information relating tocommunicating with the portable device 100. The information that istransmitted from the electronic device 120 to the portable device 100includes information required for performing a seamless playback ofcontents.

In operation 2004, the electronic device 120 transmits contents that arebeing reproduced by using the received information relating to theportable device 100 to the portable device 100. Thus, in operation 2005,the portable device 100 performs a seamless playback of the contents.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, the electronic device 120, and theserver 130 in a contents reproducing method according to anotherexemplary embodiment. In detail, FIG. 21 shows a case in which datarequired by the portable device 100 for performing a seamless playbackof contents that are being reproduced by the electronic device 120 istransmitted from the electronic device 120 to the portable device 100.Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the operations aredescribed as being performed by the portable device 100, the remotecontrol 110, and the electronic device 120. However, it will beunderstood that the operations are performed by using componentsincluded in the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Respective operations 2101, 2102, and 2103 of FIG. 21 are the same ascorresponding operations 2001, 2002, and 2003 of FIG. 20, respectively,and thus their detailed description will be omitted.

In operation 2104, the electronic device 120 generates data required bythe portable device 100 for performing a seamless playback of contentsthat are being reproduced. Then, in operation 2105, the electronicdevice 120 transmits the generated data to the portable device 100,based on information relating to the portable device 100, which isreceived in operation 2103.

When the portable device 100 analyzes the received data in operation2106 and determines to receive contents from the server 130, theportable device 100 provides a request for contents to the server 130 inoperation 2107. Thus, when the portable device 100 receives contentsfrom the server 130 in operation 2108, the portable device 100 generatesthe received contents in operation 2109.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart which illustrates operations between the portabledevice 100, the remote control 110, and the electronic device 120 in acontents reproducing method according to another exemplary embodiment.Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the operations aredescribed as being performed by the portable device 100, the remotecontrol 110, and the electronic device 120. However, it will beunderstood that the operations are performed by using componentsincluded in the portable device 100, the remote control 110, and theelectronic device 120, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Referring to FIG. 22, when the electronic device 120 reproduces contentsin operation 2201, and when an NFC contact between the portable device100 and the remote control device 110 occurs in operation 2202, theremote control 110 transmits information relating to the electronicdevice 120 to the portable device 100 in operation 2203. Then, when theportable device 100 provides a request for contents to the electronicdevice 120 in operation 2204, the portable device 100 receives contentsfrom the electronic device 120 in operation 2205, and reproduces thereceived contents in operation 2206.

One or more programs, each of which includes commands for executing amethod for reproducing contents, according to the one or more exemplaryembodiments described above, can also be embodied as computer-readablecodes on a transitory or non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium. The computer-readable recording medium may include any datastorage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording mediuminclude read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs,magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and/or anyother suitable medium. The computer-readable recording medium can alsobe distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that thecomputer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

While the present inventive concept has been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes inform and details may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A content reproducing method which is executableby using a portable device, the portable device comprising a firstcommunication unit which is configured to establish a short distanceconnection with an external remote and a second communication unit whichis configured to establish a connection with an external display device,the external remote being configured to control the external displaydevice, and the content reproducing method comprising: reproducingcontent; providing, by using the first communication unit, addressinformation of the portable device to the external remote; after theaddress information of the portable device is provided to the externalremote, receiving a content request including address information of theexternal display device directly from the external remote via the firstcommunication unit; and providing the content to the external displaydevice via the second communication unit using the received addressinformation of the external display device.
 2. The content reproducingmethod of claim 1, wherein the short distance connection is based on atleast one near field communication standard.
 3. The content reproducingmethod of claim 1, wherein the first communication unit is configured toestablish the short distance connection by transmitting a message havinga short distance communication data exchange format to the externalremote.
 4. The content reproducing method of claim 3, wherein themessage comprises at least one of information relating to a contentprovider, device information relating to the portable device, userinformation relating to the portable device, meta data relating to thecontent, and information relating to a time when the content isreproduced.
 5. The content reproducing method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a reproduction completion guidance message fromthe external display device; and displaying the received reproductioncompletion guidance message on the portable device.
 6. The contentreproducing method of claim 1, wherein the second communication unit isconfigured to establish the connection with the external display devicein response to a connection request input to the portable device.
 7. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recordedthereon at least one program which includes commands for executing thecontent reproducing method of claim
 1. 8. A portable device comprising:a first communication unit configured to establish a short distanceconnection with an external remote which is configured to control anexternal display device; a second communication unit configured toestablish a connection with the external display device, a touch displayconfigured to display content and to receive touch input; and aprocessor configured to: provide address information of the portabledevice to the external remote via the first communication unit, afterthe address information of the portable device is provided to theexternal remote, receive a content request including address informationof the external display device from the external remote via the firstcommunication unit, and provide the content to the external displaydevice via the second communication unit using the received addressinformation of the external display device.
 9. The portable device ofclaim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to provide data tothe external remote via the first distance communication unit, whereinthe data comprises at least one of information relating to a contentprovider, device information relating to the portable device, userinformation relating to the portable device, and meta data relating tothe content.
 10. The portable device of claim 8, wherein the contentcomprises an image relating to the content.
 11. The portable device ofclaim 8, wherein the short distance connection is based on at least onenear field communication standard.
 12. The portable device of claim 11,wherein the first communication unit is further configured to convertthe data into a message having a short distance communication dataexchange format and transmit the message to the external remote.
 13. Theportable device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configuredto receive a reproduction completion guidance message directly from theexternal display device via the second communication unit, and todisplay the received reproduction completion guidance message on thetouch display.
 14. The portable device of claim 8, wherein the firstcommunication unit is configured to establish the short distanceconnection by transmitting a message having a short distancecommunication data exchange format to the external remote.
 15. Theportable device of claim 14, wherein the message comprises at least oneof information relating to a content provider, device informationrelating to the portable device, user information relating to theportable device, meta data relating to the content, and informationrelating to a time when the content is reproduced.
 16. The portabledevice of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured toprovide a user interface based on the touch display, and control areproduction of the content.
 17. The portable device of claim 8, whereinthe first communication unit is configured to establish the shortdistance connection by transmitting, to the external remote, a messagewhich includes at least one of information relating to a contentprovider, device information relating to the portable device, userinformation relating to the portable device, meta data relating to thecontent, and information relating to a time when the content isdisplayed, which corresponds to a time when the short distanceconnection is established.
 18. The portable device of claim 17, whereinthe processor is further configured to control the first communicationunit to transmit the message to the external remote.
 19. The portabledevice of claim 18, wherein the message has a short distancecommunication data exchange format.
 20. The portable device of claim 8,wherein the second communication unit is configured to establish theconnection with the external display device in response to a connectionrequest received via the touch display.